What If
by Dreamiflame
Summary: Many ways the Ring might have been claimed. All drabbles, 100-word fics.
1. Prologue: Mine

Title: Mine  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: This isn't exactly part of the "What If..." series, but it is, in a way, a very early prologue for the series.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Mine"  
  
It lies there, a small weight, shining even in the dim light. He holds it, feels the warmth of the metal, hears it whisper words he can't make out but somehow understands.  
  
Noise, outside his head, and he looks up, still distracted. Follows, even though he doesn't want to, and chooses, holds it close and understands its promise. Power, control, and "No," he says, turns away again.  
  
Behind him, his name echoes from the stones, and inside his head a voice of gold speaks to him. So small, he thinks, a little thing, but precious. And now mine. 


	2. 1: Amon Hen

Title: Amon Hen  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Aragorn's story, from Frodo's POV.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Amon Hen"  
  
Aragorn kneels before him, hand hovering over the Ring, and his own. His face is tortured, torn, and Frodo swallows hard.  
  
Dark eyes pierce him and he shivers. "Do you offer it to me?" Something about his tone, about his eyes, but Frodo's already nodding.  
  
The distance closes and Frodo's hand spasms suddenly, makes as if to wrap about the warm metal, but Aragorn has it already. Long wide fingers dark against gold and he stares, fascinated.  
  
A chill runs down Frodo's spine. Something in Aragorn's face has changed, and Frodo can no longer recognize him. 


	3. 2: Riverbank

Title: Riverbank  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Arwen, movie-verse.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Riverbank"  
  
Frodo's gasping for breath on the rocks, and Arwen holds him tightly to her, feeling him drifting further away. He's fading, almost lost, and she reaches to touch his chest, encounters warm metal instead. A voice whispers her name, and somehow, her fingers have closed tight around the circle.  
  
Other hands, pulling Frodo away from her, ignoring his protests, and she feels the chain snap. The hobbit, the others, they're gone, they didn't hear it, and Arwen is alone again. She kneels on the riverbank, silver dripping from her hand and gold singing in her head. 


	4. 3: Amon Sul

Title: Amon Sul  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Ring-wraiths, on Weathertop. Frodo's POV.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Amon Sul"  
  
The Ring sings in triumph, and Frodo strains in effort, trying to draw his hand back, to no avail. Ghostly bone fingers on his, and the world comes back into proper focus.  
  
Frodo cringes away from the black figures, his hand burning with cold. Gold glints in a black fist, then the Riders are fading back into the darkness.  
  
Aragorn appears, torch in one hand, sword in the other. Sam helps Frodo to his feet. "The Ring?"  
  
"Taken." And Frodo wonders if he wears the same expression of terror as the man before him.  
  
The night seems suddenly much darker. 


	5. 4: Rohan

Title: Rohan  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: AU-ish. Eomer's POV.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Rohan"  
  
Travelers in Rohan, and Eomer is curious. Halflings, like children with adult faces, an Elf, a Dwarf, Men.  
  
The Fellowship, travelling to Mordor, on a mission of utmost importance. They won't say why, not precisely, and it is only when he sees Frodo alone one night that he learns.  
  
Gold slips off a silver chain, slides free from Frodo's neck, and Eomer is holding it before he realizes he moved. Warm from hobbit skin, he can hear it, low and sinister, whispering his name.  
  
His fingers close, hold fast, and he turns away from Frodo's stricken eyes. 


	6. 5: Lothlorien

Title: Lothlorien  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Probably not who you expect. Frodo's POV.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Lothlorien"  
  
Frodo's wandering, trying to find some measure of peace, and suddenly the Lord of the Forest is before him. He stops, surprised, bows his head.  
  
"You do not sleep." Celeborn's voice is quiet and strong.  
  
Frodo's hand closes around his burden. "My sleep is haunted."  
  
"The Ring." And again, he nods.  
  
Somehow, the chain is in his hand, offering it to the Elf. A long moment, then Celeborn picks it up, and Frodo blinks.  
  
The woods seem darker at once, and a chill creeps down his spine. Celeborn smiles, gold sparkles by starlight, and Frodo is terrified. 


	7. 6: Rivendell

Title: Rivendell  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Again, not who you probably expect.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Rivendell"  
  
Frodo holds the Ring out, words drifting from his lips, but Sam can't hear them anymore. Gold and silver in his master's familiar palm, extended, offered, to him.  
  
His fingers tremble as he brushes Frodo's skin, hearing a voice from very far away say his name. Metal in his hand, and a new voice, closer, telling him secrets.  
  
The world shakes, and Sam reaches out, brushes it away. A sound, more felt than heard, and he drags his gaze away to see Frodo sprawled on the ground, staring up at him.  
  
The Ring chuckles in his head. 


	8. 7: Imladris

Title: Imladris  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Imladris is the Elven name of Rivendell.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Imladris"  
  
Waking is hard, but Frodo forces himself to do so. The Ring, he thinks, reaches for it, encounters nothing but cloth. It's gone.  
  
Gandalf speaks to him, distracts him, and it is a shock to Frodo to see the Lord of Imladris. The Ring hangs around his neck, and Frodo wonders at the loss he feels.  
  
"You have the Ring," he says, feeling the ache in his shoulder.  
  
Lord Elrond nods, eyes dark and secret, touches his hand, then the Ring. "I took it from you to help heal you."  
  
Frodo shivers. "Thank you," and wonders at his fear. 


	9. 8: Bag End

Title: Bag End  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Temptation in Bag End.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Bag End"  
  
"You must take it!" Eyes wide, Frodo holds the Ring out to him, and Gandalf wavers between what he thinks is right, and what he hopes to do. Frodo moves closer, and it seems the easiest thing to hold out his hand and let the small weight fall into his palm.  
  
Voice of gold, and Frodo smiles, looks relieved. Gandalf turns the Ring over in his fingers, listening the whispers, and wonders. Closes his hand around warm metal and hopes he has not just made the worst mistake of his long life.  
  
It will be safer with him, after all. 


	10. 9: Garden

Title: Garden  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: I really wish I could have thought of a better title for this.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Garden"  
  
Frodo's mental voice is strong and his hand steady as he holds out the Ring. Galadriel reaches for it, faintly hearing her own voice. Some part of her can still form words, while the rest focuses on the gold in Frodo's palm.  
  
Power sweeps her up, makes her see what she might become, and yet... The metal is warm to the touch, shining in a way that banishes all else from her thoughts.  
  
Dimly, she is aware that Frodo has drawn away, that she glows a shade most unlike her usual one, but none of it matters now. 


	11. 95: Mirror

Title: Mirror  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Again, not exactly part of the series, but it follows the ideas in "Garden" so well I had to include it.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Mirror"  
  
Sam works now in Her gardens of Lothlorien. He thinks, though She has never taken him aside and said so, that he is the guardian of the Mirror. He avoids looking in it himself, but keeps the grass neatly trimmed around its base. The children that laughed up at him the one time he peeked in haunt his dreams. They were his children, Sam is sure of that. And they will never be born, not beneath the Lady's rule. He knows that like his name.  
  
He cries sometimes, when he wakes, for the laughing Hobbit children that never were. 


	12. 10: Forest

Title: Forest  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: One of the more obvious ones, but one of the harder ones to write.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Forest"  
  
Frodo twists below him, trying to get away, and Boromir is focussed only on the silver chain around the hobbit's neck. Feels it beneath his fingers, and pulls, hard.  
  
The chain snaps, and he grabs the other end, pulls away from Frodo. The Ring hangs there, before him, and it's so easy to grasp it, hold it tight. Frodo is saying something, but he is drowned out by golden whispers and Boromir's own desire.  
  
He stands, turns away from Frodo, pulls off a glove to feel it better, and revels in the smoothness against his weathered skin. 


	13. 11: Minas Tirith

Title: Minas Tirith  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Also rather AU-ish.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Minas Tirith"  
  
He knows they're coming, knows what they carry. He waits for them at the gates, embraces Boromir proudly. His son has done well.  
  
The Hobbits look frightened, unsure of themselves in a place so much bigger than any they have seen. He sets them at ease, gains their trust. It's easier than he thought it would be.  
  
Frodo comes to him one night, speaks to him quietly, holds it out. A surprise: he'd been sure he would have to steal it.  
  
Denethor closes his fingers over the warm gold Ring triumphantly and smiles benevolently down at Frodo. 


	14. 12: Council

Title: Council  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Different choices at the Council of Elrond.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Council"  
  
Elves. Gimli twitches, tries to ignore them. Finds it easier when the Ring is placed before them. It looks so small, harmless, really. He imagines melting it down, reshaping it, making it his.  
  
He hears its voice, whispered into his mind, and shivers. Shatters his father's axe upon it and lies there, stunned, longing. To think that gold could do that...  
  
The Elf, Elrond, talking of doom and destruction, and Gimli stands without thinking. Reaches forward, ignores the voices around him, and picks it up.  
  
"I will take the Ring," and smiles, closing his fist tightly around cool metal. 


	15. 13: Moria

Title: Moria  
Author: Dreamiflame  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, Tolkien's and whomever else's.  
Note: Slightly different tone in this one.  
Series Note: Each of these stories is exactly 100 words long, a drabble. They were written and posted on Livejournal earlier.  
  
"Moria"  
  
Darkness closes in around him, suffocating, and Legolas shivers, staying close to Mithrandir, and the light. A nightmare: trapped underground with only the bones of dead dwarves and the constant threat of Orcs.   
  
All to destroy a bit of metal bound with the power to enslave all of Middle Earth. A trinket with a voice that whispers to him if he strays too near Frodo, that haunts him in the dark, makes promises to tempt his resolve.  
  
What harm could there be in an Elf holding the Ring?  
  
Gold glints in the corner of his vision, and Legolas turns away. 


End file.
